To help elderly people at severe risk from the coronavirus, California launched the “Great Plates Delivered” program to bring meals from local restaurants to their homes.
In Los Angeles, city employees swung into action to enroll seniors in need. But soon they got a seemingly contradictory message: Some seniors, they were told, were too needy to qualify.
Beginning in May, L.A. officials instructed workers taking calls for the meals program that elderly people were eligible only if their incomes fell between roughly $25,000 and $75,000 for a household of one. That meant that the very poorest — those earning under $24,981 annually — could not access the new program.
Los Angeles officials pointed to guidance sent out by the state, which said that eligible participants must earn “no less than 200% of the federal poverty limit.” Other California cities and counties have cited the same rule.
Read the rest of the story on LATimes.com.
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Everyone must ask the obvious question…..”If this was not for the poorest elderly, then who was it really meant for, and what exactly was the goal of this program?”